Eat Volume Food

March 17, 2010Angela (Oh She Glows)

by Angela (Oh She Glows) on March 17, 2010

Hope your St. Patty’s Day is going great!

Sadly, this was not green beer that fueled my workday today- it was a green monster– but I had to have it in a beer mug! I made this GM with kale…and I forgot how horrible my Kitchen Aid blender is with kale. It was soooooo chewy. Not cool. I dream of the day when I can buy a Vitamix!

Until then, I chew my kale. :mrgreen: and I check my teeth very carefully before going out. ;)

My exercise today was quite the change of ‘pace’! It was so gorgeous outside, I decided to go for a walk on my lunch break. I can’t remember the last time I just laced up my sneakers and went for a WALK! Sometimes, a walk is all you need to feel re-energized. I did a brisk 30 minutes around the neighbourhood. Sometimes workouts don’t need to be intense to feel amazing!

Health Tip #2: Eat Volume Food!

If you guessed that I eat volume foods everyday you’d be right! This is how I eat a lot of food and still maintain my weight.

Volume foods are foods that physically have a lot of volume (or size) to them, but they are typically low in calories.

For breakfast, my favourite two volume foods are Green Monsters and oatmeal. The key is to have protein and healthy fat in addition to your volume foods.

For breakfast, I typically use protein powder, chia seeds, and nut butter to give them staying power.

Want to add more volume to your GM? Just add ice and water! Sometimes I put 4-5 ice cubes in mine and 1/4 cup water if I want it really big volume wise.

On the other hand, no amount of cereal or toast ever seems to fill me up! What is up with that?!

For lunch I typically have wraps. However, wraps on their own do not leave me feeling satisfied. They take about 2 minutes to eat and when I am done I am asking where my wrap went! ;)

That’s why I always have lunch with at least 2 servings of veggies on the side. Sometimes I have an English cucumber and hummus or 3-4 carrots and salsa. Crunching veggies is very satisfying as they take a long time to eat and give your brain a chance to register that it is full.

Soup is also a great volume food! I love this Amy’s Reduced Sodium Split Pea Soup:

I usually end my lunch with more volume food- fruit!

Grapefruit is very filling due to all the water!

During the day, I have lots of tea to stay hydrated. I make sure to never let myself get very thirsty.

For dinner, I always have a large salad to go along with whatever we are eating. It fills up my stomach and doesn’t make me feel like I need second helpings.

Great tips – especially about filling up with veggies when you have wraps etc! I totally agree about toast & cereal…I try not to eat them that often because I could eat waaaay too much of both. We bought white bread today as we had visitors over and we’ve been eating it all day…soooo not good!

I dream of the day I have a vitamix too, can’t wait to pulverize that kale. Do you use Kale in your Breville? If so, high or low setting? I feel like such little liquid comes out of the greens I juice, it seems so wasteful!

I tried kale in the juice article I am doing today actually- I found that such a tiny amount of green juice came out too :( It was sad. I don’t know if I will be using kale in my juices anymore…might just stick to the GM for that! I used the lowest setting too. Hrmph.

Great tips! One question though: when you add extra ice cubes and/or water to your green monsters, do you find that they end up tasting too…well…watery? I used to use fresh fruit and ice cubes but then switched to frozen fruit b/c I felt like all of the extra water really took away from the taste. But I’d love to be able to make my monsters BIGGER without adding anything extra, you know?

Not really. Since I have been drinking veggie juices I find that I don’t care if it is really sweet or not. I am just used to it. I don’t find that the ice really waters it down because it just tastes so COLD that I don’t notice, perhaps!

I also ate lots of volume foods when I was losing weight too. :) The only difference between now (maintenance) and then (weight loss) was just scaling down my portions a bit. I still ate lots of veggies, salads, etc. I dont think anyone can go wrong with those types of foods!

I have had this problem in the past too. I started to eat slower because my doc told me that I was probably swallowing way too much air by eating so fast (bad habit!). It seems to have helped. I also find that blending veggies in a green monster makes it a bit easier to digest.

Great tips! You basically just set out my exact day of eating!! Green monster for breakfast, crackers and cheese for snack, lunch with lots of veggies and grains, grapefruit for snack, and a large salad with dinner! And lots and lots of tea! :).

I loved this because I’m HUGE on volume food. I usually load up on volume food at dinner though, because I don’t like feeling bloated or heavy after lunch. I usually eat literally 3-5 servings of veggies at dinner, and my roommates think I’m crazy! Well, I think they’re crazy for only eating 3 spears of asparagus! LOL. Smoothies are great, I agree. And I love to load up on huge salads.

i always have a salad with whatever dinner I am eating too! and as for my wraps, I PACK them with veggies, so many people asked me how I still am able to wrap them so I gave a wrap tutorial on my blog haha…I just stuff that thing till it is about to burst! :) I also fill up on fruit of course…sweet dessert!!

I TOTALLY agree (obviously). I am all about volume (that’s why almost everything I blog about is voluminous). I go through 2 tubs of organic spinach and a 10 lb. bag of carrots per week filling the gap. Great tips, hon!

I always have either a green monster or oats for breakfast…unless I take an am spin class…then I have both! Green monster before and oats after:) I have been replacing lunch with creative and filling salads, usually with a side of crackers or half sandwich. I too, like to have a salad with dinner because it takes me longer to eat and therefore I feel like I am getting more food. Substituting banana soft serve for dessert is an excellent idea…I am going to start doing that (after trying it for the first time yesterday…yum!)

I have a very sensitive stomach so high volume foods don’t work as well for me. I try not to eat food that will fill me up too much. So I eat small meals. By doing this I can eat by volume rich foods like veggies but in smaller portions!

I do a lot of the same things you do. I MUST try that banana soft serve.. my mouth is watering! I just discovered “walnut coconut organic green tea” it is so yummy it’s almost like a treat. I often drink it in the evenings when I feel like something sweet. Even though it’s not really sweet. I got in Bloor West Village at Davidstea http://www.davidstea.com/

I try to do volume foods, but I’m not sure if this is a personal quirk – even though I eat things that are supposed to make me feel fuller, things like oatmeal or large salad, and I make sure I’m throwing in some healthy protein and fats – I blow through it so quick. Some days, I can tell my blood sugar dips, and others, I’m ravenous so quickly afterward.

I’m trying to cut back on the amount of meat I need in a meal and having vegetarian meals from time to time. But every time I eat something without meat, the same thing happens. I’ve experimented with various proteins and good fats, and I’ve got a clean bill of health, so I’m not sure if this is just an adjustment period, or all in my head.

I am SUCH a volume eater. I like huge salads, oatmeal, fruit, etc. I started buying these unsweetened cereal puffs (I think Arrowhead Mills and Kashi makes some) and I’ll add them to my cereal to bulk it up!

I totally hear you on the walking thing today! I’m usually a runner, but the weather was just so gorgeous that I wanted to really enjoy and savor it for a change. My lovely walk made me feel so invigorated afterwards….ready to head into my next workout with a bang. Sometimes, you just have to pause and take the time to enjoy the beauty around you. It can just brighten your whole outlook on the week!

Volume foods are great. They really do do an excellent job filing you up without the calories. I eat tonnes of volume foods… But also a lot of NOT volume foods (a la peanut butter). I just need a better way to stay on track with those not-so-good-to-eat-in-large-quantity foods.

I really love your blog! I discovered the green monsters not too long ago, and I am sad on the days I leave too early to make them (the blender wakes up my boyfriend, and he is not a morning person). I usually will make one later in the day to make up for it. I have been incorporating a lot more fruits and vegetables into my diet, and I love to drink tea during the day. I am especially addicted to spearmint tea.

i am totally volume eater. i NEED the volume to feel satisfied. i’m not the kind of person who can eat a sandwich and be done with the meal, because it is small and calorically dense. in fact, i just made a GM and for the first time, added extra ice in. i usually just put a frozen banana and rely on that to make it thick. but oh gosh… the extra ice cubes!! so so so creamy!! what a wonderful discovery. i need to get chia seeds to bulk up my oatmeal now :P

and a lot of my dinners are huge salads, but instead of having the protein, veggies, and grains on the side, i just dump it all on top of the salad haha.

however, fruits are a different story for me… apples will NEVER keep me satiated. they just make me hungrier, even if i pair them with a protein. same with carrot sticks + pb sometimes. i wish they filled me up, though!

i am 100% a volume eater bc i have a big appetite and enjoy eating a lot. i almost always have an enormous salad at some pt in the day bc they are so fun to get creative with. i always feel challenged to make my current salad more banging than my last :)

Oatmeal/Oatbran has also become my go to brekky – I love it with peanut butter, honey and chia seeds . .yum! I actually get excited about it the night before. Other days I have poaches eggs on toast and I usually find I am hungry earlier than if I have oatmeal.

I need to really commit to salads. I LOVE them, but just find them hard to design, pack up, and take to work. I order them anytime we eat dinner out (someone else makes them – hee hee!). I have got to try that soft serve. A quick lunch that I find fills me up is a serving of Seeds of Change quinoa and brown rice (microwaveable bag), mixed with plain of flavoured hummus. I also love that split pea soup!

I think volume food is totally the best way to feel happy with eating a lot of food. My friends aren’t big volume eaters and they are amazed that I can get a full plate of food in the dining hall and tell them it’s my appetizer and I’m cooking something in my dorm later. Well, when that plate is full of green vegetables, it certainly ISN’T very much.

I’m having one of my favorite volume dinners tonight: traditional Irish corned beef and cabbage. I am trying to get my parents to buy some grass-fed beef one of these days…

I really just had to stop and leave a comment for this post, even though it is my first time visiting! (I am familiar with Eat, Live, Run & KERF). This reason being, I was astonished and pleased to know we seem to eat very similarly. I always choose oatmeal for my breakfast these days (with a bit of PB, cinnammon, and honey). Cereal does not fill me up, and I had very bad experiences with it. Such as, I would have 2-3 big bowls, and felt disgusting the rest of my day. Lunch usually consists of an apple or orange (always changing up the fruits), veggie, and either yogurt or healthy sandwich. Snack typically, a few almonds, or a Lemon Zest Luna Bar. Dinner, big spinach salad with lots of veggies, small meat helping, and a slice of sharp cheddar cheese. I was BLOWN away to know tonight, for my first time EVER, I made Banana Soft Serve!!!! I am IN LOVE. I melted a tid bit of peanut butter, drizzled on top, and WA LA>> decadent desert but so good for you.

Love, love, love your attitude towards food! Just wanted to say thank you for maintaining this healthy approach to weight loss and maintenance. I just realized that I have been a slave to numbers for 16 years. I waste so much time worring about weight and calories and ultimately not getting any healthier or thinner. It is incredible that I really have no idea how my body really is – other people tell me they wish they looked like me and all I see is love handles and thunder thighs. Reading your story really helps – I hope I can get to a body happy and healthy place! Thanks to this website I started making green monsters for breakfast (using spinach and kale, mostly spinach, it blends better!) and it is wonderful. I even brought it to work for my co-workers to try. I try to do salads mostly in the evening and also incorportate beans and lentils in our diet to feel fuller longer. I try to stay away from meat and dairy, but enjoy an occasional egg or sushi, so volume foods a very inportant :)

That’s really great advice! I wish someone had given me those tips when I began losing weight. Thankfully, I kind of found it out on my own. I keep a food journal and I quickly noticed that on days when I ate a lot of lower calorie foods I felt fuller than the days of smaller portions of higher calorie foods. Some of my favorite volume foods are sandwiches with laughing cow cheese and a ton of veggies, soup (like you mentioned), salads, and raw vegetables. I find that the longer it takes me to eat something, the more satisfied I feel after wards.

I love high volume things too and eat mostly that. I have oatmeal almost every morning and have at least one huge salad a day. I used to not eat grains all too much, but since I’ve been eating less meat, I’ve pumped up the grains and add tones of veggies to those as well. I also live off of fruit. My parents are always amazed how much fiber I eat and how few problems my body has with it :)

I love love love big batches of banana ice cream too! I eat it almost everyday. I dunno if I ever mentioned but I make the chocolate chips from your raw cookies to go in my softserve, it is so so delicious because they stay soft and chocolatly and melty, unlike “real” chocolate chips which freeze in ice cream and don’t taste as good! My newest favorite thing is to throw 2 frozen cherries in there. It stays the same texture but makes it the prettiest pink ever and imparts a lovely cherry flavor!

I am such a volume gal I’ve learned! I used to focus on nothing but fat grams, calorie counts, carb counts. The counting was just overwhelming! About 3 months I began to focus on more volume and quality foods. I incorporate fruit with my breakfast and usually an afternoon snack. Veggies are always a part of lunch + snack + dinner as well. Having so many items on my plate create a whole different level of visual and mental satisfaction for me! And the bonus? The food is actually fabulous in taste and makes my body feel AMAZING!

I also wanted to put in a plug for your glo bars. I bought my first order – one of the variety packs, plus extra adore bars – and had them shipped to my office. They are great! I haven’t tried everything yet, but the ones I have had fill me up and are a great (healthy) treat. I’ll be ordering more, that is for sure!

First thing in the morning, I pack a Green Monster with spinach, mixed salad greens, grape tomatoes, banana, blueberries, protein powder, almond butter, and chia seeds, and wow! this is so much more energizing than the coffee with sugar that I used to have. About an hour later I have Overnight Oats mixed with apple and blueberries, a little more almond butter and a drizzle of honey, sometimes half a sliced banana w/cinnamon on top as well. These two keep me full enough that if I can’t get a lunch break until 3 or so at work, I’m still okay. Lunch is usually a healthy sandwich or wrap, then I repeat the GM when I get home. After that, a sensible small portioned dinner is plenty. With this regimen I have more energy and health than I have ever had before. Basically ALL of this, I got on your blog. :)

I have been trying to incorporate volumetrics into my eating as well! I always have a GM for breakfast and a salad for lunch. Even if I have other things along with them, their fresh veggie water content keeps me satisfied :) I will have to do this with dinner as well!

Big fan of volume eating, here! I love pumping up my meals with veggies and adding lots of liquids to my oats. I genuinely love veggies and liquidy oats, so it doesn’t even seem like something I *have* to do.

I LOVE volume foods. Smoothies are among my favourites, as are oats- cereals for breakfast too. I chose a high fibre/high protein one with a fair amount of calories, but enough that I can still fill the bowl with lots of fruit & almond milk! HUGE salads for lunch are great as well as egg/tofu scrambles!!

I am a definite volume eater! One of my favorite things right now is spaghetti squash bulked up with lots of veggies (and some protein mixed in). I haven’t made smoothies a lot lately…I need it to get warm out!

My volume foods look a lot like yours! One question- what kind of wraps do you eat and what do you usually fill them with? Sometimes I find myself very hungry about 2 hours after eating lunch, even with all of the volume!
Thanks!

I went for a long walk with my pup yesterday (on the main road/bar area). Did you get hounded by the hooglin’s out there? I sure did, for wearing my post-workout clothes (which happened to be black and pink – got GREEN. Even though I did wear all green to work yesterday….)

This post sums up my yesterday so well. I have been lacking about 1 added vegetable a day, so yesterday I decided to pack a huge salad to take to work, along with my barley salad and Greek yogurt. I was eating lunch yesterday thinking “My gosh, I feel like I’ve been eating forever!” When I checked the caloric value of the meal it was like 500 — an average lunch for me! But I loved it, so I have a salad today, too…in addition to my regular leftovers :)